The Body Will Follow - A Divisive Read
If you are looking for a book that divides opinions The Body will Follow by Rob E. Boley could well be that book. I actually wasn’t sure if I would even continue with this throughout the first chapter, but I am so glad I did!
Carrie’s body hasn’t been her own for quite some time. Carrie was living her dream life, a cushy job, a stunning vintage-inspired home which she has painstakingly decorating, a close group of friends, and a love of running, however, that all changed when a gang of extremely hedonistic spirits took over her body. Using Carrie as a puppet, they lead her into a life of depravity, causing her to lose everything that made her happy. Drugs, alcohol, food, and more unprotected sex than she can imagine, Carrie’s life has gone down a dangerous path.
After reclaiming her body, Carrie’s story starts again, with her needing to start over with her life. Coming to terms with losing her friends and her job, being riddled with sexual diseases, and having very little memories of the last year, Carrie needs to find someone she can trust.
The Body will Follow is an interesting story that packs a lot into its small page number. While the story itself is actually horrific under the surface, Rob E. Boley approaches it in a more light-hearted way, though never trying to hide the dread underneath. The book is written well, with some surprisingly great character development of our main character, and some fantastic chapter titles that I strangely enjoyed!
So, let’s get into the nitty-gritty, what is so divisive about this book? Carrie, our protagonist, is a victim in this story. Her body has been used against her will to undertake multiple things such as drug use and sexual encounters, which is where a strong conversation can be held over whether this book is just a gratuitous rape fantasy of a male author. In my opinion, I think the book holds itself well with the story it is telling. We meet Carrie at the end of her possession horror. We follow her as she tries to rebuild her life, her friendships, and above all, find a way to live alongside her trauma. Often we only get small glimpses of people rebuilding their lives (including emotionally) after an author’s story is over, sometimes a chapter, sometimes a happily ever after paragraph. However, Rob E. Boley skipped the abuse and went straight to the aftermath, telling a tale of a young lady grabbing her trauma and taking control. Yes, this story is set in a strange premise of possession, but the figurative demons that Carrie faces are all too real for many people. I may have felt uncomfortable whilst reading The Body will Follow, but in the few weeks it took me to gather my thoughts on this book and to sit down and write this review, I realized that it wasn’t a negative thing. It isn’t a re-read for me, but definitely something I would recommend.
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